Ka-ching, Ka-ching!

SEVEN HUNDRED BILLION

.

DOLLARS

The Forbes.com article Bad News For The Bailout included this data point about the data points used to arrive at the proposed cost of the bail out. It turns out:

"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

Okay. I'm not an expert on either, but it seems to me that the unnamed Treasury spokeswoman's answer is to economics what being able to see Russia from your house is to foreign policy. (AKA: NOT ENOUGH!!!)
.
I mean, I totally "get" that we have to do something to fix this mess -- and the fact that the House couldn't pass the agreement as submitted to them threw the market even more into the toilet -- but come on here ... this isn't exactly the kind of response that inspires confidence that we're on the right track is it?

I'm thinking about petitioning the Episcopal Church to suspend the Lectionary Cycle and let us keep September 21st's Collect of the Day for at LEAST the rest of this election cycle:

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Lord, Lord, Lord!

Celebration of Ministries Sunday: Not JUST like box of chocolates!

Last year, I compared our Celebration of Ministries Sunday to a box of Whitman’s Sampler Chocolates … “a big box of chocolates spread all over the All Saints Quad Lawn where we get to see, touch, feel and experience the wonderful diversity of the work that goes on 24/7 on behalf of the Gospel here at All Saints Church.” (And thanks again to those who found it such a helpful analogy that they left the box of chocolates in my mail box. Much appreciated!)

But this year I've got another image for the celebration that happened at All Saints Church yesterday. Don’t get me wrong – I still love chocolates! But there’s something about them sitting there in the box – separated from each other, each in their own little frilly paper divider – that doesn’t quite translate to the energy and dynamism of our once-a-year festival of ministries here at All Saints Church.

So I’m thinking that All Saints’ Celebration of Ministries is more like a full orchestra out on the lawn – with a whole variety of instruments all tuning up for a symphony entitled “Program Year 2008-2009.” Because it is not a static enterprise, this turning the human race into the human family business. And it is not going to be accomplished if we just sit there – like a chunk of chocolate – comfortably nestled in our frilly paper nest.

Instead, it takes all kinds of instruments playing all sorts of notes, sometimes in harmony and sometimes in unison (and every once in awhile with a little interesting dissonance!) as each perfects their own part of the musical score. GALAS and COLORS and EDEN and Sustainable World. Prayer Shawls and Foster Care and Ushers and Women of Spirit. You could sign up to defeat Proposition 8 at the Peace & Justice table or reach out to a homeless woman at the Women’s Council table. Find out more about ministry with college students at the Indaba table or support children fighting childhood cancer at the CYF table.

The great symphony that is the mission and ministry of All Saints Church requires each and every one of us to take our place, to find our part, to give our best to make “thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” not just a prayer but a reality. That is the work we are about here at All Saints Church – each and every Sunday and all the days in-between. And THIS Sunday – Celebration of Ministries Sunday 2008 – gave us a chance to either sing a new song or to belt out an old one -- or both! -- as we bring our gifts and graces, our hopes and our challenges to meet the world’s deep need with our best offerings of time, talent and treasure.

A world in need now summons us to labor, love and give
To make our life an offering to God that all may live
The Church of Christ is calling us to make the dream come true
A world redeemed by Christ-like love; all life in Christ made new.

So on this morning-after I give thanks for the great diversity of tunes and tones and timbres that make up our All Saints Symphony. For the knitters and the prayers -- for the advocates and for the letter writers – for the reconcilers and for the agitators. It is going to take each and every last one of us -- and then some! -- to make that dream come true.

And so, without further ado, here's a slide show of yesterday's "Symphony on the Lawn" at All Saints Church!

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
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Exhibit A is this shot of one of the angels of St. John's Cathedral looking out over the City of Angels ...

... while the rest of us gathered inside for a Festival Evensong celebrating the Feast of St. Michael & All Angels ...

... and where Bishop Jon Bruno made Jim White an honorary canon of St. John's Cathedral, in recognition of his decades of tireless activism on behalf of the LGBT faithful in the Diocese of Los Angeles and beyond.

Here's Jim with his "you are now officially a Canon" certificate (suitable for framing!) ...

And here is Canon White posing outside with +Jon and his fellow honoree, Canon Cov Davis.

Congratulations, Jim! Well deserved and well done -- and bravo to the Diocese of Los Angeles for recognizing what the rest of us have known for years: you ARE the best -- and this church and our lives are SOOOOOOOOO much richer for your ministry and your friendship.
.

All Saints Says No to Partisan Pulpits

It was Celebration of Ministries Sunday at All Saints Church ... more on that later ... but here's the "punchline" of Ed's excellent sermon -- the part where he takes on the "Partisan Pulpit Sunday" preachers challenging the IRS rules about supporting candidates from the pulpit.

(You can see the whole sermon on our website here ...)

Debate post-mortem

(So, would it have killed McCain to look

Obama in the eye when he shook his hand?)

NYT Editorial: The First Debate

Michael Cohen: A Win for Obama

L.A. Times: A too-close-to-call debate

Washington Post: McCain's High Horse Meets Obama's High-Mindedness

MSNBC: 2 quick polls give Obama edge in debate

FOX NEWS General Election Poll
[Obama +4.3]
Obama -- 47.9%
McCain -- 43.6%

CNN stopped by on Friday ...

... to ask Ed Bacon a few questions about what he thinks about this "Preaching Partisan Politics from the Pulpit" stuff planned for Sunday by the ADF (Alliance Defense Fund.)
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Supposed to air on a Sunday night segment ... 8pm PDT. Tune in and check it out.

====

And while we're talking "media," the second half of Ed's interview with Oprah Winfrey on her "Soul Series" webcast show is now up and running.

Watch it here ... or listen to the podcast from the website. Either way, it's 31 minutes of Ed Bacon's VGA (Vintage Glory Attack!)

Preaching politics

L.A. Times editorial

Pastors plan to speak this weekend in favor of McCain. That should get the IRS' attention.

September 27, 2008

Congress, the 1st Amendment states unequivocally, shall "make no law" that interferes with the free exercise of religion. That's a sound principle that has served this nation well, and one that undergirds our free speech and assembly rights as well. In practice, it is accompanied by a modern corollary: The government agrees not to tax churches and other nonprofit organizations, as long as they agree to limit their speech. They may preach on God and country, on war and peace, but they must not endorse candidates for office if they want to avoid the tax man. As Christ enjoined: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."

To be sure, it's a bargain whose benefits are debatable. It might make more sense for the government to tax churches just as it taxes other organizations that operate under the 1st Amendment (newspapers and TV stations, for instance), and we'd be happy with churches that pay taxes and ministers who endorse candidates. But under today's rules, churches that have accepted the exemption also have accepted the prohibition against endorsements, and most faithfully abide by them.

Comes now, however, a group of ministers in California and elsewhere who intend to use their pulpits this weekend to urge parishioners to support GOP presidential candidate John McCain. "Nobody who follows the Bible can vote for" Democrat Barack Obama, one member of the cloth told The Times' Duke Helfand.

That statement is staggering in its presumptuousness -- how comfortable it must be to know which candidate is favored by God. Moreover, while it advances one American value (speech), it violates another (the separation of church and state). Both Jesus and the framers of the Constitution saw the value in such separation, which prevents the suppression of religion by the state and ensures that our civil institutions do not favor one faith over another.

Conservatives are not alone in pushing the boundaries of the tax exemption. In the 2004 presidential campaign, a pastor at All Saints Episcopal in Pasadena condemned the war in Iraq just before election day, and the IRS responded with a grueling, two-year investigation. The comments were provocative, but they were not candidate-specific and fell within the generally accepted range of religious discourse. The tax code does not prevent pastors from opposing war.

By contrast, Sunday's effort is deliberately political and specifically targeted at favoring McCain, and thus directly challenges the rules on political participation.

"My kingdom," Jesus said elsewhere in the Bible, "is not of this world." Would that his ministers better followed his example.

R.I.P. Paul Newman

Bruce Gilbert / For The Times

1925-2008
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L.A. Times Obituary

So whatja think?

Doug Mills/The New York Times

I only got to watch 2/3 of the debate live because I was doing a radio interview that probably nobody listened to because everybody else was watching the debate I was missing. Whatever. I'll catch the other 1/3 on Tivo ... but now we're watching the "pundits" ... and I'm wondering what ya'll think???

.

Of course, the part I loved was Obama standing firm against the Iraq War ... I agree with him on the issues ... and he, well, he was just BETTER!

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So far the early polls seem to agree with me ... (which of course, I like!) ... but there are still miles to go before we rest on this one.

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Next stop, VP debate ... and I'm not scheduling any interviews during that one! :)

Prayer du jour

With thanks for "those whose lives are closely linked with ours" via the internet, this prayer (from the Church of England website) came to me this morning via email from FOUR different colleagues.


Let us pray.


Holy God,
we live in disturbing days,
across the world, prices rise,
debts increase,
banks collapse,
jobs are taken away,
and fragile security is under threat.


Loving God,
meet us in our fear and hear our prayer:
be a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands,
and a light in the darkness;
help us receive your gift of peace,
and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
.

In case you missed it ...

Here's where Sarah Palin -- in a CBS interview with Katie Couric -- clarifies how being able to see Russia from her house qualifies her with foreign policy experience:

[transcript from The Huffington Post, which also has a video link to the Couric interview ... which you can see in its entirety on the CBS website]

COURIC: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land-- boundary that we have with-- Canada. It-- it's funny that a comment like that was-- kind of made to-- cari-- I don't know, you know? Reporters--

COURIC: Mock?

PALIN: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

COURIC: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

PALIN: Well, it certainly does because our -- our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia--

COURIC: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth. We -- we do -- it's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where-- where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is -- from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to -- to our state.

====

Feel better yet? Me ... not so much.
.

UPDATE: I just watched the whole thing and her answers on Israel were even scarier!

Pastors plan to defy IRS ban on political speech

Ministers will intentionally violate ban on campaigning by nonprofits in hopes of generating a test case.



By Duke Helfand,
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 25, 2008

Setting the stage for a collision of religion and politics, Christian ministers from California and 21 other states will use their pulpits Sunday to deliver political sermons or endorse presidential candidates -- defying a federal ban on campaigning by nonprofit groups.The pastors' advocacy could violate the Internal Revenue Service's rules against political speech with the purpose of triggering IRS investigations.

Read the rest here ... including this quote from All Saints rector Ed Bacon:

"Political activity and political expressions are very important, but partisan politics are . . . . a death knell to the prophetic freedom that any religious organization must protect," said the Rev. Ed Bacon, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena.

====
And here's the NPR story ... "Pastors To Preach Politics From The Pulpit"
by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

"Will you strive for justice and peace among all people ...

... and respect the dignity of every human being?"
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St. John's Cathedral, Los Angeles says, "YES, we will!"

DODGER CLINCH NL WEST!!!

This just in from the L.A. Times ...

.

GO, BLUE!!!

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CNN Poll

Quick Vote (On the CNN Home Page at the moment)

John McCain's request to delay campaigning and this week's debate is:

• An effort to help the economy
• A political gimmick
• Something else
  

Results as they stand at time of posting:

• An effort to help the economy ... 24%
• A political gimmick ... 71%
• Something else ... 5%
  

(Maybe the American people are smarter than we look!)

Campbell Brown: "Free Sarah Palin!"

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Frankly I have had it, and I know a lot of other women out there who are with me on this. I have had enough of the sexist treatment of Sarah Palin. It has to end.

She was in New York on Tuesday meeting with world leaders at the U.N. And what did the McCain campaign do?

They tried to ban reporters from covering those meetings. And they did ban reporters from asking Gov. Palin any questions.

I call upon the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower who will wilt at any moment.

This woman is from Alaska for crying out loud. She is strong, she is tough, she is confident. And you claim she is ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff. Watch Brown call on the McCain campaign to 'Free Sarah Palin' »

Allow her to face down those pesky reporters just like Barack Obama did today, just like John McCain did today. Just like Joe Biden has done on numerous occasions. Let her have a real news conference with real questions.

By treating Sarah Palin differently from other candidates in this race, you are not showing her the respect she deserves.

Free Sarah Palin.

Free her from the chauvinistic chains you are binding her with.

Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do. Watch a debate on whether the GOP is hiding Palin »

So let her act like one.

========

And let the people say ...

AMEN!

He's GOT to be kidding!

The New York Times is reporting:

McCain Seeks to Delay First Debate

Senator John McCain on Wednesday injected yet another surprise into his presidential campaign, announcing that he would suspend campaigning on Thursday and seek a delay in this week’s planned debate, so that he could return to Washington to try to forge a consensus on a financial bailout package.

.

You can read it all here ... and I guess the IDEA is that he would come across as a problem-solver ... which would be more arguable if his poll numbers weren't heading south because every time he opens his mouth and says something else about the economy (it's "fundamentally sound" comes to mind!)

.

It seems to me he comes across as a problem solver all right ... and the problem he's trying to solve is what on EARTH is he going to say on Friday night that won't keep voters from bailing on McCain/Palin by the droves.

.

Stay tuned. It just gets curiouser and curiouser!

.

[And here's the Washington Post "behind the scenes" look at the McCain strategy ... which includes this quote from Obama:

"There are times for politics and then there are times to rise above politics and do what's right for our country," said Obama. "This is one of those times." He added, however, that he had no plans to re-schedule Friday night's presidential debate in Oxford, Miss., as McCain had proposed in announcing the suspension of his campaign.

"It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess," said Obama. "Part of the president's job is to deal with more than one thing at once."

A Bishop Reflects on +Duncan's Deposition

From the blog of +Pierre Whalon, Bishop of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe:

Bishop Robert Duncan was deposed for abandonment of the communion of this Church, under Canon IV.9. This followed a process begun by some clergy and laypeople of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. While he himself demanded a church trial in an open letter to the bishops, the only canonical basis for action by the Presiding Bishop and House of Bishops is the presentment itself.

The House of Bishops, in other words, could act only on what the complainants from Pittsburgh put before us, including the canonical frame of their charges. Neither the Presiding Bishop nor Review Committee, nor the House itself, could change it. A trial would certainly have been more damaging for the defendant, in any event.

It is easy to derail the Canon IV.9 process by denying that one has indeed left the Episcopal Church. Bishop Duncan did not do so. Nor did he attend the meeting. Less than five minutes after the vote to depose him, the Diocese website announced that he had been received into the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of the Americas.

My own understanding of the canons that I followed with a priest of the Convocation who claimed to be received in another province--while continuing to want to minister in Europe for that province and against us--is that one can only be legally transferred to another province of the Communion by moving there. As Bishop Duncan wished not only to join the Southern Cone province but also took active steps to remove the diocese with him, he clearly had done what the presenters charged.

The House upheld the rulings of the Presiding Bishop, her Chancellor, and the House Parliamentarian, that the canons were appropriately and correctly applied.

The Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts-Schori, did a flawless job of chairing the meeting. She warned us not to indulge in vindictiveness. As she has done before, she also admonished us not to abandon those bishops who have been deposed. They are still connected to us in a real way, by baptism to begin with. Bishop Katharine also saw to it that when two retiring bishops were feted later that evening, that time was given for people to remember Bishop Duncan in positive ways.

As for me, I discovered with great joy the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Way of Christianity thirty years ago in Pittsburgh. I was received into the Church by Bishop Austin Pardue, one of our great bishops of the last century, and made a postulant for Holy Orders by Bishop Bob Appleyard, another giant whom I eventually succeeded as Bishop in charge. I was ordained deacon and priest by Bishop Appleyard's successor, Alden Hathaway, and served my first cure as rector of All Souls Church in that diocese.

Over the years, I have watched the once-great diocese become a shadow of its former self under Bishop Duncan's leadership. His clear schismatical intent to break up our church, as well as what I perceived as egocentric ambition to become its savior, also generated in me a great deal of anger toward the man. I took his actions even more personally, perhaps, because of my deep commitment to the diocese as the people who brought me out of a spiritual desert into a way of being Christian in which I have been able to follow Jesus.

As I considered how to vote on his deposition, I realized that for the good of my own soul, I should abstain. It seemed clear that he would be deposed, and I fully concur with that decision.

Had my vote been a tie-breaker, I would have changed it to a yes. However, in my heart I felt the temptation to use my vote as a way of getting even with the man. Abstaining seemed the healthier way.

This may seem precious to some. Perhaps they are right. But it is how I saw the matter at the time.

Yours in Christ,
+Pierre

Who knew????

Read all about it ...

... or not! :)

,

Confessions of a Calendar Luddite

Yes, I have a PDA. Of course I use Outlook. But my REAL calendar ... the one that counts ... looks like this:
.

It's not that I'm technology averse. In fact, not long ago a media consultant we were working with told me I was "remarkably techno savvy for my demographic." (Let's not go there.) But when it comes to my calendar, I like what I like. And today, I got a new one ...

... which totally makes it feel like the first day of school ... with this blank slate of program year stretched out in front of me ... ready to be filled up with work and witness, mission and ministry, and ... (if I'm paying attention to balancing my life like I'm supposed to be doing!) ... rest and recreation.

.

I'm a long time, unrepentant Luddite when it comes to calendars. Exhibit A is this shelf behind my desk where I have all the "save to hard-drive" calendars from years past ready to be referred to at a moment's notice.

No, it may not be quite as efficient as being able to hit "search" on your desktop and find a past appointment or date or time ... but what I miss in the cyber calendar are the notes scribbled in the margins, the doodles along side the dates, the post-it-notes reminding me of the to-do lists that never actually got done ... and that the world kept spinning anyway.

.

What will 2009 hold? A January Inauguration and a July General Convention are already on the list ... I've got Board meetings already scheduled in the spring an Urban Caucus Assembly in February and an HRC Capitol Hill action in May ... and who knows what else will come along as "our days increase."

.

When I took my now-dog-eared 2008 calendar out of it's plastic wrapper about this time last year, could I have even IMAGINED that it would end up being full of dates for the weddings of same-sex couples who were finally granted marriage equality in the state of California? Or that on the 4th of November we will have the very real possibility of ACTUALLY sending Barack Obama to the White House?

.

No sir-ee Bob!
.

So bring it on ... I'll take all the YouTube and iTunes and podcasts and live-streaming webchat stuff you can throw my way in 2009. Me and my Luddite calendar are ready to rock and roll!

Abraham Heschel Quote of the Day

“Religion had declined not because it had been successfully argued against, but because it had become irrelevant, dull, oppressive, uninteresting. When faith is replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crises of today are ignored because of the remembered splendor of the past; when faith becomes an inherited heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority and rules rather than the voice of compassion, its message becomes meaningless.”

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

Garrison Keillor asks: "Where is the outrage?"

John McCain decries greed on Wall Street and suggests a commission be formed to look into the problem. This is like Casanova coming out for chastity.

By Garrison Keillor
Sep. 24, 2008 salon.com

It's just human nature that some calamities register in the brain and others don't. The train engineer texting at the throttle ("HOW R U? C U L8R") and missing the red light and 25 people die in the crash -- oh God, that is way too real. Everyone has had a moment of supreme stupidity that came close to killing somebody. Even atheists say a little prayer now and then: Dear God, I am an idiot, thank you for protecting my children.

On the other hand, the federal bailout of the financial market (YAWN) is a calamity that people accept as if it were just one more hurricane. An air of crisis, the secretary of the Treasury striding down a hall at the Capitol with minions in his wake, solemn-faced congressmen at the microphones. Something must be done, harrumph harrumph. The Current Occupant pops out of the cuckoo clock and reads a few lines off a piece of paper, pronouncing all the words correctly. And the newscaster looks into the camera and says, "Etaoin shrdlu qwertyuiop." Where is the outrage?

Poor Larry Craig got a truckload of moral condemnation for tapping his wingtips in the men's john, but his party proposes to spend 5 percent of the GDP to buy up bad loans made by men who walk away with their fortunes intact while retirees see their 401K go pffffffff like a defunct air mattress, and it's business as usual. Mr. McCain is a lifelong deregulator and believer in letting brokers and bankers do as they please -- remember Lincoln Savings and Loan and his intervention with federal regulators on behalf of his friend Charles Keating, who then went to prison?

Remember Neil Bush, the brother of the C.O., who, as a director of Silverado S&L, bestowed enormous loans on his friends without telling fellow directors that the friends were friends and who, when the loans failed, paid a small fine and went skipping off to other things? Mr. McCain now decries greed on Wall Street and suggests a commission be formed to look into the problem. This is like Casanova coming out for chastity.

Confident men took leave of common sense and bet on the idea of perpetual profit in the real estate market and crashed. But it wasn't their money. It was your money they were messing with. And that's why you need government regulators. Gimlet-eyed men with steel-rim glasses and crepe-soled shoes who check the numbers and have the power to say, "This is a scam and a hustle and either you cease and desist or you spend a few years in a minimum-security federal facility playing backgammon."

The Republican Party used to specialize in gimlet-eyed, steel-rim, crepe-soled common sense and then it was taken over by crooked preachers who demand we trust them because they're packing a Bible and God sent them on a mission to enact lower taxes, less government. Except when things crash, and then government has to pick up the pieces.

Some say the tab might come to a trillion dollars. Nobody knows. And Mr. McCain has not one moment of doubt or regret. He switches from First Deregulation Church to Our Lady of Strict Vigilance like you might go from decaf to latte. Where is the straight talk? Does the man have no conscience?

.
It wasn't their money they were playing with. It was yours. Where were the cops?

What we are seeing is the stuff of a novel, the public corruption of an American war hero. It is painful. First, there was his exploitation of a symbolic woman, an eager zealot who is so far out of her depth that it isn't funny anymore. Anyone with a heart has to hurt for how Mr. McCain has made a fool of her. Never mind the persistent cheesiness of his attack ads. And now this chasm of debt and loss and the gentleman pretends to be shocked. He was there. He turned out the lights. He sent the regulators home.

Mr. McCain seems willing to say anything, do anything, to get to the White House so he can go to war with Iran. If he needs to recline naked in Macy's window, he would do that, or eat live chickens, or claim to be a reformer. Obviously you can fool a lot of people for awhile and maybe he can stretch it out until mid-November. But the truth is marching on. A few true conservatives are leading a charge against the bailout. Good for them. But how about admitting that their cowboy economic philosophy was at fault here?

(Garrison Keillor is the author of a new Lake Wobegon novel, "Liberty," published by Viking.)

© 2008 by Garrison Keillor.

All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Bits & Pieces ...

So it's been a VERY whirly couple-of-weeks and I feel as though I haven't had a minute to think beyond the very next thing in front of me ... because I haven't!

But now with the dust settling from the "best ever" Homecoming Sunday ... which included the celebration of our 125th Birthday as a Parish ... and the program year off and running, it seemed a good moment to pause and post up these few "bits and pieces":

Obviously, I've been pretty immersed in the "No on Prop 8" campaign here in California, and am very pleased with the California Episcopalians for Equality blog that was launched this week. There are such great stories to be told -- and what a privilege to be able to help tell them!

Sunday ... Homecoming ... was a great celebration here at All Saints Church and I commend to you the sermon preached by our rector, Ed Bacon: 125 Years of Transformative Grace. I particularly loved the way he wove the Jonah story into calling us into the next 125 years of mission and ministry ahead of us. A great, great day.

At home, our life has been revolving, more or less, around the newest member of our family ... Miss Juno Brooks-Russell (shown here with the evidence of her latest foray into digging in the garden!)
.

She is a bundle of energy, tiny puppy teeth and a VERY waggy tail and we are overwhelmed and utterly besotted.

"In other news" the IRS story seems to be heating up again ... you remember them from the last presidential election cycle? It seems there are a bunch of conservative congregations planning to intentionally violate the no-partisanship-in-the-pulpit rule in order to push the issue to the Supreme Court and -- hopefully, by their reckoning -- get the regulations changed.

On September 10th, local radio host Patt Morrison did a piece -- Reforming the God Tax? Groups Push to Rewrite IRS Rules on Churches -- that has some interesting background. And the Interfaith Alliance Protecting Faith & Freedom is doing some VERY good work around these issues ... if you don't know about them, check out their website. And if you're in the L.A. area, come by All Saints on Thursday night this week where they're having a forum called "Religion and the 2008 Election" which sounds like it's going to be great.

Finally, all this bustling busyness is being played out against the backdrop of a very dear, faithful and fabulous friend coming to the end of her long and valiant battle with cancer. It is a holy time for all of us who hold her and her family in our hearts and minds ... and I invite readers of this blog to join with us as we surround her and those who love and care for her with our prayers:

Holy God, giver of life and health; Comfort and relieve your servant and give your power of healing to those who minister to her needs, that she may be strengthened in her weakness and have comfort in your loving care; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Equality for ALL!

(A picture is worth 1000 woofs!)

California Episcopalians for Equality

Check out the new blog in town ...

CALIFORNIA EPISCOPALIANS FOR EQUALITY

A blog to providing resources and networking opportunities for California Episcopalians committed to protecting the sanctity of ALL marriages and defeating Proposition 8 on the November 4th ballot.

The site currently contains links to news items, statement from the California bishops, background on General Convention actions regarding civil marriage and an opportunity for supporters of marriage equality to tell their stories.

Check it out:

We're looking for folks who are willing to share [a] a photo and [b] 200 words about why marriage equality matters to them.So whether you're a newlywed same-sex couple, a long-time married straight one or a single supporter of marriage for all, here's a chance to join your voice with other fair-minded Californians working to keep marriage in the "liberty and justice for all" category -- not turn it into "liberty and justice for some."Email your photo and story to Episcopalians4equality and join us as we work together to defeat Proposition 8!

"No on 8" commercial set to hit California airwaves

Chcek out the new commercial from the No on 8 folks ...

Prop 8 Opponents Planning Weekend of Activities

This weekend, thousands of volunteers throughout California, will be working to defeat Proposition 8, taking their message directly to the voters. Local committees from Sonoma to San Diego, from San Francisco to Bakersfield will be organizing volunteers to staff phone banks, waive signs and talk to their neighbors to highlight the growing coalition of Californians who don't want to eliminate rights for anyone.

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In Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will attend a No on 8 Rally, in Palm Spring residents will line six key traffic sites waving signs and talking to those on the sidewalk. In dozens of cities people will be staffing phone banks to get the message out, in others faith leaders will be talking to their parishioners while other volunteers table at community events.

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Everywhere, volunteers against 8 will be reaching out in their local communities to urge their neighbors, friends and co-workers to Vote No in November.

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"The volunteer activity in our campaign has been incredible from the very beginning," said Steve Smith, consultant to the No on 8 Campaign. "I've worked in dozens of political campaigns and I've never seen so many individuals and so many different groups willing to help us get our message out. The turnout this weekend will be phenomenal...and will let folks from throughout California know how many people are urging them to Vote NO on 8."

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Local No on 8 coalitions include women's groups, civil rights groups, the LGBT community, faith leaders, labor union members, teachers, Democrats, Republicans and Independents. They will all be working throughout the weekend to urge voters to VOTE NO on Proposition 8.

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House of Bishops Deposes Bishop of Pittsburgh

Press release from Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh received via email a few minutes ago:
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PEP Hopes Diocese Will Move Forward Gracefully After Duncan Deposition

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania —
September 18, 2008 —

Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh regrets that events have caused the House of Bishops to consent to the deposition of Bishop of Pittsburgh Robert W. Duncan. It is never a cause for rejoicing when the Church must confirm that one of its leaders has abandoned the communion of The Episcopal Church. The decision to depose Bishop Duncan comes after long and agonized consideration.

It is nine months since the Title IV Review Committee certified that, in the opinion of its members, the bishop had abandoned the communion of this Church. Bishop Duncan has repeatedly said that he expected the Church to discipline him. He has rejected numerous opportunities and warnings to reconsider and change course.

Instead, he has continued resolutely to pursue a course of action designed to remove this diocese and many unwilling Episcopalians from The Episcopal Church. Now that the House of Bishops has acted, the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh needs to find a way to move forward gracefully and productively.

By canon, the Standing Committee is now the ecclesiastical authority for the diocese. We pray that its members will exercise wisdom in a spirit of love and reconciliation and will reconsider the divisive course set for our upcoming diocesan convention. It is within their power to begin to heal this troubled diocese.

Everyone in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, including Bishop Duncan and his family, the Standing Committee, the clergy, and ordinary parishioners need the prayers and concern of the entire Episcopal Church. With God’s help, this diocese will continue the witness of The Episcopal Church in Southwestern Pennsylvania long into the future.

The Living Church has this report ... and the Diocese of Pittsburgh has this to say about that.

San Diego Stands Up for Marriage Equality

Lead editorial in today's San Diego Union-Tribune ... a paper not historically notable as a champion of progressive values.

Gay marriage right should not be repealed
UNION-TRIBUNE
September 18, 2008

The right of gay and lesbian couples to wed on an equal legal basis with heterosexual couples has long stirred opposition not only among social conservatives but also among a much broader swath of society. But in the four short months since a landmark California Supreme Court ruling legalized gay marriage, a significant social shift seems to have occurred.

As gay couples have gone to the courthouse and entered into matrimony, usually surrounded by champagne, family and friends, the worst fears of gay marriage opponents suddenly seem greatly inflated. For instance, Christian conservatives have asserted for years that allowing gays to marry would undermine heterosexual unions – hence, such laws as the Defense of Marriage Act. In truth, however, there has been no discernible impact on traditional marriage between a man and a woman now that gay couples in California have the same right.

With gay marriage a fait accompli, society has not crumbled. The long-standing institution of marriage is not in crisis. Californians have taken this change in stride. Indeed, there appears to be a marked shift in public opinion toward acceptance of gay marriage.

Consider that in 2000, when California voters last weighed the issue, fully 61 percent supported a ban on gay marriage. Today, with Proposition 8 on the Nov. 4 ballot, polls show that Californians support gay marriage by a margin of 54 percent to 40 percent, with 6 percent offering no opinion. The trend suggests that, by Election Day, a solid majority of Californians will register their approval of gay marriage.

Proposition 8 would repeal the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry. It stipulates, by a one-sentence amendment to the state constitution, that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Our guess is that even voters who may have reservations about gay marriage will be reluctant to repeal a right that now exists as a matter of law. To do so would smack of singling out a particular group for discrimination, a move that offends many Californians' sense of fairness.

Supporters of Proposition 8 make two arguments. The first is that, for thousands of years, marriage has been defined as between a man and a woman exclusively. Considering how Californians historically have been wide open to change, this appeal is not likely to carry much force.

The second argument made by supporters is that children should be raised solely by a father and a mother, not by two fathers or two mothers. Yet the debate over child-rearing is entirely beside the point, because Proposition 8 is about marriage only. It would do nothing to prevent gay couples from adopting children or from having children through artificial means. Indeed, all Proposition 8 would do is ensure that the children of gay couples would be raised in households where the parents were unmarried. Would that be a healthier situation for children?

In the past, this page has advocated civil unions for gay couples rather than marriage. But our thinking has changed, along with that of many other Californians. Gay and lesbian couples deserve the same dignity and respect in marriage that heterosexual couples have long enjoyed. We urge a No vote on Proposition 8.

Church of England apologizes to Darwin ...

... sort of.

From Episcopal Life Online:

A spokesman for the Church of England has said the church misunderstood Charles Darwin's work nearly 150 years ago and that "by getting our first reaction wrong," has continued an on-going misunderstanding.

At the end of an essay titled "Good religion needs good science," the Rev. Dr. Malcolm Brown, the Church of England director of mission and public affairs, addressed Darwin directly, saying that nearly 200 years after his birth "the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still."

"We try to practice the old virtues of 'faith seeking understanding' and hope that makes some amends," Brown wrote. "But the struggle for your reputation is not over yet, and the problem is not just your religious opponents but those who falsely claim you in support of their own interests. Good religion needs to work constructively with good science -- and I dare to suggest that the opposite may be true as well."

Read the rest here ... kind of interesting, what with Creationism being back in the news and all!

Hallmark says "I Do" ...

... to same-sex marriage cards.

I must have missed a meeting -- or an email or something. Probably it was while I was on vacation. But HALLMARK, it turns out, is now getting on the marriage equality bandwagon and producing cards celebrating marriage AND appropriate for same-sex weddings.

Here's a link to the August 21st NBC News story which I evidently missed. (Better late than never, I figure.)

My reaction, predictably, is "good for them."

The American Family Association's reaction, predictablly, is "not so much."

From their website is this suggested letter to send to Hallmark President Donald Hall:

Dear Chairman Hall:

I am surprised that Hallmark is promoting an unhealthy lifestyle which is illegal in 48 states. There was a time Hallmark told us to send the very best. Sorry to see you have taken a giant step down. No more. American Greeting Cards, your competitor, will be getting my business.

Yuck!

So I figure if we've been listening all these years during the Hallmark Hall of Fame, then we know that you send a Hallmark card ... "when you care enough to send the very best" -- and WE should care enough to let the folks at Hallmark know that they shouldn't be bullied by a bunch of homophobic bigots.

And -- speaking of same -- thanks to the American Family Association, we've got the Hallmark contact info at our fingertips:

Corporate number:
816-274-5111

Email address:
Donald J. Hall, Chairman

Snail mail address:
Donald J. Hall, Chairman
Hallmark Cards
2501 McGee Trafficway
Kansas City, MO 64108

Ready ... Set ... GO!!!

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Abel Lopez Kicks Some Homiletic Butt

My colleague, Abel Lopez, preached a kick-butt sermon yesterday on the lessons appointed for the Sunday Closest to September 14 ... Romans 14:1-12 and Matthew 18:21-35.

I commend the whole sermon -- entitled "Rewriting Our Stories" to you ... click here for the video and settle in for a real treat.

But -- if you're in a hurry and want the "executive summary" ... here it is:

Paul was a good and faithful servant. He wanted more than anything to preserve the Church and yet he was confronted with a major obstacle to the church remaining in unity.

With great passion and a strong sense of what was right or what was wrong the Jewish converts to Christianity and the Gentile converts were in a bitter dispute. The theological disagreement came down to beliefs regarding the eating of meat and the observance of the Sabbath.

Paul understood that both sides needed to move beyond customs, beliefs, and teachings that at best were petty and at worse were exclusionary and judgmental.

The beauty of Paul’s leadership here is that he did not take sides. He did not frame one belief as better, or right, rather he said to each they should act according to their conscience. However, in doing so they had to respect their differences and not be a stumbling block to the goals and visions of their brothers and sisters.

What would Paul have done if one of the converted groups had refused this idea? If one of them had said that the other had to change or they would leave? I’d like to believe that Paul would have let them leave.

Breaking News: DOW CLOSES DOWN 504.48 POINTS

WORST DAY ON WALL STREET SINCE JULY, 2002
(According to the ABC News Alert that just hit my email inbox.)

Q. Given the state of the American Economy, is this the guy you want setting economic policy for the next four years?



A. I. DON'T. THINK. SO!

Dear Daughter ..

From The LA Weekly ... a father laments "the road not taken" in this moving letter to his community organizer daughter.

You'll Never Be Vice President

Daughter Dearest,

It is with great pain and a certain measure of shame that I write you this note. Having grown up in the '60s and watched, sometimes at glaringly close range, the emergence of the women's liberation movement, I had always harbored great dreams and aspirations for you.

But as I listened to Governor Sarah Palin address the nation the other night, I had to confess that — as your father — I have clearly failed. Honey, you will never be able to achieve the greatness of being nominated for vice president of the United States. Forget about it.

And for this sad reality, I accept all blame. 'Twas I who steered you wrong.
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Here you are, almost 25, with what your mother and I believed was a solid education behind you, and yet you are nothing but a common community organizer. Yes, the labor union you work for represents nearly 2 million service workers — about three times the population of Alaska. But, alas, as Governor Palin pointed out, you have no real responsibilities.

By helping janitors, security guards, nursing aides and orderlies gain a living wage, paid health care insurance and a retirement fund, you have only robbed them of the personal initiative to go out there and make something better of themselves. You have rendered them feebly dependent on Big Labor and tax-and-spend Big Government — and all in their own crass self-interest in survival.

I'm not sure when I helped nudge you on to such a mistaken road. Probably sometime while you were attending that government-run high school in which we enrolled you. You could have joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, as Ms. Palin did. Instead, I pushed you to become a columnist on the school paper.

You could have spent your afternoons becoming the local barracuda on the courts. But, nope, your mom and I indulged your trivial passions for staging and directing the plays of Shakespeare. You could have competed to be Miss Woodland Hills or even Miss Congenial California, but — no — there were your mom and dad encouraging you to finish writing your first play. Sorry.

From there, the mistakes only multiplied. Instead of letting you wait until the responsible age of 44 before letting you secure a passport, we strained our family budget and squandered who knows how many thousands by putting you on countless Flights to Nowhere: New York, Washington, New Orleans, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Santiago, Mexico City. And to what end? So you could return home — as the huggable Mayor Giuliani so neatly put it — some sort of "cosmopolitan"?

Exposure to so many foreign ideas (like the notion of spending an idle afternoon reading a book in a café instead of learning to field-dress a moose) only contaminated you, rendering you insensitive and contemptuous to the day-to-day needs of bowling league members in Michigan's Macomb County. Worse, you returned from those European jaunts a brainwashed follower of the elite, angry, left media.

By the 12th grade, all the warning signs were there. I'd walk into your room at 1 in the morning and catch you with a flashlight under the covers, reading the book pages of The Atlantic. Why didn't I nip this all in the bud and buy you a well-oiled Remington 12-gauge so you could plink the coyotes south of Ventura Boulevard?

The real disaster came, of course, in college. Four straight years wasted at UCLA, when you could have been following the course of the governor, sampling five different schools in six years. You were reading Orwell. By then she was practicing doublespeak. You were studying public policy, by then she was figuring out how to win the 909 votes she needed to become mayor of Wasilla.

You were inclined to donate $100 to the ACLU. She was way ahead of you, sweetie, as she calculated how to avoid the ACLU when she made her inquiries into pruning the local library of un-American and anti-Christian propaganda. She was on her way up and you, dear child, were dead-ended in the silly task of trying to organize seven hospitals back to back.

It's not healthy to dwell on so many regrets, I know. And as I said, this is mostly the fault of your parents. While you are the victim of these reckless choices, your mom and I, nevertheless, pay a heavy price. If we had only been sage enough to bar you from sex-ed class and contraceptives and instead had let you rely on abstinence and prayer, there was an even chance you could have been pregnant by age 17. You'd have a joyous 7-year-old child right now to help you get through your 10-hour workday. The father might have married you. And we'd have a lovely grandchild who a mere decade from now could produce us a great-grandchild and we would all still be young enough to go snowmobiling together — the next time it snows in Woodland Hills.

Ah, but better not to dwell on the negative. Make the best of the little we have given you, and grant us your understanding and forgiveness. And don't despair too much. Remember, when McCain-Palin come to power, real change is gonna come, and we'll all be better off.

Love, Dad

Mazel tov!

A new bishop for the Diocese of Maine!

From The Bangor Daily:

PORTLAND, Maine — The Right Rev. Chilton R. Knudsen, the first woman to serve as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, on Saturday handed a shepherd’s staff — the symbol of the office — over to her successor at the seating and investiture of Bishop Stephen Taylor Lane.

Lane, 58, of Portland was elected bishop in October at the annual diocesan convention in Bangor. Ordained in 1978, he served in upstate New York in a number of congregations and diocesan staff roles. Lane was the canon for deployment and ministry development in the Diocese of Rochester when he was elected.

Welcome All!

[ Reflections on Romans 14:1-12 for the 1:00 Bilingual Service at All Saints Church ... Sunday, September 14th]

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Welcome All

“Whoever you are and wherever you find yourself on your journey of faith, there is a place for you here.”

Unless this is your first Sunday at All Saints Church, you know that these words are ones we say EVERY Sunday … in fact, they are words that are core values for this congregation and have been for a very long time.

Every once in a while, someone questions whether we really mean it. “"Whoever you are” you are welcome here? Really?"

“WHEREVER you are on your journey of faith? Really?"

Yes, really. Whoever. Wherever. You are welcome here. ALL are welcome here. Really. All.

And this morning, I’m so very pleased that one of the lessons for today is the reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans. It is a lesson that proves – once and for all – that “whoever you are you are welcome here” is not something Ed Bacon or Abel Lopez made up one day over a margarita. Rather, it is something that is as old as the very earliest days of the Christian faith and the words of the apostle Paul.

Listen again to his words – important words spoken to the 1st century Christians in Rome that are just as important for we 21st century Christians here in Pasadena:

Welcome those whose faith is weak, and do not argue with them. The opinions of people range from those who believe they may eat any sort of meat, to those who abstain. Those who eat everything must not despise those who abstain. The ones who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat, for God has welcomed them. Who are you to judge someone else?

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The point of this lesson, of course, isn’t what's for lunch. It isn't about who’s a vegetarian or who isn’t – it’s about how God expects us to respect each other in our differences and how Paul expects the Christians he’s writing to in Rome to welcome – not argue with – those who were different than they are.

And that’s a lesson we ALL need to learn … over and over again … not only here at All Saints Church but in every part of our life and work – especially during this election season when it seems that there is so very much to disagree about with each other! (At least that’s what it looks like on the television news every night!)

Another thing you will have heard before -- if you’ve been here more than once – is that All Saints is committed to the work of turning the human race into the human family. And so, if we put the two together, after we’ve welcomed you to All Saints Church -- whoever you are and wherever you are on your journey of faith – then what you’re welcome to do when you get here is help us to live out the human family values every day that we talk about every Sunday.

We hear a lot about “family values,” don’t we – particularly when it’s election time. But what we are committed to here at All Saints Church is valuing ALL families. And we’re committed to working to make not just this congregation but this country a place were all are not just welcome but given equal opportunity. When we work during the week for immigration reform or improving the health care system or protecting marriage equality, we’re doing it in response to our desire to live as God would have us live – to welcome all as we have been welcomed – to respect the dignity of every human being by treating them as we would treat members of our own family.

Next Sunday is “Homecoming” and we’ll start off the new church program year by welcoming back those who’ve been away for the summer, as well as those who may be here for the first time. And the following week is “Celebration of Ministries” Sunday – when we’ll get a chance to see displays from all the many ministries doing God’s work here at All Saints Church.

This is a wonderful time to invite friends – neighbors or relatives – to join us here at All Saints Church where whoEVER you are and wherEVER you find yourself on your journey of faith, there is a place for you. Really.

Yes, really. Whoever. Wherever. You are welcome here. ALL are welcome here. Really. All.

Thanks be to God.
Amen

The truth will set you free ...

... AND make you a smarter voter!

Here are some sites to bookmark to "Fact Check" and help separate the facts from the flotsom in the political discourse avalanche of this final stretch of the election cycle 2008. Thanks to my friend Lilli for this one!

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Once again, many of us are feeling very riled-up and emotional about the presidential election. But regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, we owe it to ourselves, our families, our neighborhoods and the greater community of our nation that we all care so much about to know the facts.

Unfortunately, mud-slinging is a part of political campaigns and that won’t change any time soon. E-mails fly around the Internet faster than you can get whiplash when hit at 60 miles an hour.

Here are two resources to help you be an informed voter:

Politifact –- a project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly to help you find the truth in the presidential campaign. This is a very entertaining Web site. Check out the Truth-O-Meter and Flip-O-Meter.

FactCheck.org -- a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. It is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Check out factcheck’s weekly video with highlights from the top mud-slinging stories and viral e-mails.

In case you missed it ...

... not so live ...

... from New York ...

... it's SATURDAY NIGHT!

UPDATE: I understand You Tube took down the clip but if you click here you can still watch it ... after a 14 second commercial. (Worth the wait ... trust me!)

Ed Bacon on Oprah's "Soul Series" on Monday!

All Saints rector, the Reverend J. Edwin Bacon, is going to be the featured guest on Oprah's "Soul Series" webcast, broadcast on XM radio. (How cool is that???)

Here's what the "Soul Series" is, as described on Oprah's website: Each week on her XM Radio show, Oprah sits down with leading spiritual thinkers, teachers and authors to talk about matters of the soul, and shares insights into her own life. Plus, she invites listeners to reflect on their own spiritual journeys. Videotaped sessions of Oprah's Soul Series will be available on Oprah.com every Monday evening at 9/8c.

Click here for a video preview and tune in on Monday, September 15th.

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(And here's a list of previous guests on this series I'd never even heard about until Ed got invited to be on it ... who knew???)

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From the mailbag ...

Following up on the press coverage of the September 10th statement by the Bishops of California opposing Proposition 8, we've been encouraging folks to write Letters to the Editor at the L.A Times in support of our bishops' position. Here are a few of the ones we've sent in as an encouragment for others to "go and do likewise."

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Dear Editor,

I was delighted to read that the Episcopal bishops took such a strong stand against Proposition 8. I believe it is critical as we approach this important election for people of faith to stand up and oppose this effort to take constitutionally guaranteed rights away from Californians who happen to be gay or lesbian. To do anything less would be to reduce our cherished "liberty and justice for all" to "liberty and justice for some." Our laws should guarantee the same fundamental rights and freedoms to every Californian.

Freedom of religion in this great country of ours protects the state from dictating to me, as an Episcopal priest, how I exercise my ministry. It is equally important that freedom from religion protect our constitution from those who would write their theology into it. We are a democracy, not a theocracy. Bravo to the bishops of the Episcopal Church for standing up to say so!

(The Reverend) Susan Russell
Pasadena

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Dear Editor,

The coverage you gave to the Episcopal bishop’s statement against Proposition 8 was gratifying. Since some religious groups are organized to promote this proposition which deprives gay and lesbian people of the right to marry and perpetuates prejudice against them, it is important that people understand that theirs is not the only religious view. I would hope that other groups would step forward to stand against prejudice, and that the November election, among other things will be a positive referendum for equal treatment and equal rights in California.

The Rev. Warner R. Traynham
Los Angeles

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Dear Editor,

Thank you for covering the Episcopal bishop's statement regarding Proposition 8. Stories about gay marriage often imply that all Christian churches and people have one view on this matter, and that is certainly not the case. In fact, many of us are alarmed at a call to return to Biblical standards regarding marriage. For a large portion of the Bible, the marriage standard is polygamy (with, in addition to multiple wives, a goodly number of concubines.)

This includes such intriguing prospects as the right to marry the widow of your enemy whom you have just slain and the obligation to marry your brother's widow should he predecease you. I think most of us can agree that our thinking on marriage has evolved for the better since those times, and continues to evolve as God leads us to understand how to treat each other with true respect.

Serena Beeks
Claremont

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Dear Editor,

I am deeply grateful for the inclusive position taken by the Episcopal Bishops in the State of California to stand against de facto segregation of persons who happen to be gay or lesbian. Fifty years ago our country passed laws to prohibit the segregation of black children from white children in public schools. It is time to extend basic civil rights and equal opportunity to persons of same sex orientation whose sexuality is as God-given as black skin or Asian ancestry.

"Domestic Partnerships," permitted to same-sex couples, are not the same as marriage. It is just another "separate but equal" myth designed to segregate those whom some religious groups choose to exclude. Segregation and discrimination are wrong. If Proposition 8 passes, I am confident that, sooner or later, it will be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court that serves to uphold the legal system that has made this country great. So why pass this prejudicial proposition in the first place? As the people of God, in whatever faith tradition, let us affirm those laws that reflect God's grace and mercy for all.

(The Reverend) Judith Heffron
Covina

Alaska lawmakers vote to subpoena Todd Palin

Charlie Huggins is my new hero -- camouflage pants and all.

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By GENE JOHNSON (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated PressSeptember 12, 2008 10:34 PM EDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The abuse of power investigation against Sarah Palin, Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate, took a potentially ominous turn for her party on Friday when state lawmakers voted to subpoena her husband.

Republican efforts to delay the probe until after the Nov. 4 election were thwarted when GOP State Sen. Charlie Huggins, who represents Palin's hometown of Wasilla, sided with Democrats. "Let's just get the facts on the table," said Huggins, who appeared in camouflage pants to vote during a break from moose hunting.

Read the rest here.

And now for something completely diffferent ...

So last November, All Saints Church became a movie set for a couple of days for the filming of the Clint Eastwood film "The Changeling" ... starring Angelina Jolie. (Giles Fraser wrote about it in his reflections on his visit to Pasadena in The Church Times.)

Well, the movie is about to come out -- and here's the trailer where you can see bits and pieces of All Saints Church, Pasadena ... transformed to look like it did (in theory!) back in 1928 ...

Roger Ebert: THUMBS DOWN ON PALIN FOR VP

Hat tip to commenter IT for this one ...

THE AMERICAN IDOL CANDIDATE

I think I might be able to explain some of Sarah Palin's appeal. She's the "American Idol" candidate. Consider. What defines an "American Idol" finalist? They're good-looking, work well on television, have a sunny personality, are fierce competitors, and so talented, why, they're darned near the real thing.

There's a reason "American Idol" gets such high ratings. People identify with the contestants. They think, Hey, that could be me up there on that show!

My problem is, I don't want to be up there. I don't want a vice president who is darned near good enough. I want a vice president who is better, wiser, well-traveled, has met world leaders, who three months ago had an opinion on Iraq. Someone who doesn't repeat bald- faced lies about earmarks and the Bridge to Nowhere. Someone who doesn't appoint Alaskan politicians to "study" global warming, because, hello! It has been studied. The returns are convincing enough that John McCain and Barack Obama are darned near in agreement.

I would also want someone who didn't make a teeny little sneer when referring to "people who go to the Ivy League." When I was a teen I dreamed of going to Harvard, but my dad, an electrician, told me, "Boy, we don't have the money. Thank your lucky stars you were born in Urbana and can go to the University of Illinois right here in town." So I did, very happily. Although Palin gets laughs when she mentions the "elite" Ivy League, she sure did attend the heck out of college.

Five different schools in six years. What was that about?

And how can a politician her age have never have gone to Europe? My dad had died, my mom was working as a book-keeper and I had a job at the local newspaper when, at 19, I scraped together $240 for a charter flight to Europe. I had Arthur Frommer's $5 a Day under my arm, started in London, even rented a Vespa and drove in the traffic of Rome. A few years later, I was able to send my mom, along with the $15 a Day book.

You don't need to be a pointy-headed elitist to travel abroad. You need curiosity and a hunger to see the world. What kind of a person (who has the money) arrives at the age of 44 and has only been out of the country once, on an official tour to Iraq? Sarah Palin's travel record is that of a provincial, not someone who is equipped to deal with global issues.

But some people like that. She's never traveled to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America or Down Under? That makes her like them. She didn't go to Harvard? Good for her! There a lot of hockey moms who haven't seen London, but most of them would probably love to, if they had the dough. And they'd be proud if one of their kids won a scholarship to Harvard.

I trust the American people will see through Palin, and save the Republic in November. The most damning indictment against her is that she considered herself a good choice to be a heartbeat away. That shows bad judgment.

Good for Bishop MacBurney

Reported in The Living Church:

Bishop MacBurney Issues an Apology
Posted on: September 11, 2008

The Rt. Rev. Edward H. MacBurney, retired Bishop of Quincy, and Wicks Stephens, his lawyer, have reached an agreement under which Bishop MacBurney voluntarily submitted to discipline.

Last January, the Title IV [disciplinary] Review Committee issued a presentment against Bishop MacBurney for allegedly leading a service of confirmation at a congregation which had left the Diocese of San Diego in order to join the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone in South America. Bishop MacBurney was subsequently inhibited, or prohibited, from functioning in any way as a priest or bishop, pending an ecclesiastical trial which had been scheduled to be held in November.

In her “Sentence Upon Voluntary Submission to Discipline” dated Sept. 9, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori removed the inhibition against Bishop MacBurney and admonished him “not to repeat the actions which caused the presentment to be brought against him.” She also directed him to apologize “in writing to the Bishop of San Diego for not respecting his authority as the bishop of that diocese.”

Bishop James Mathes of San Diego, who originally had brought the complaint against Bishop MacBurney, said he was satisfied with the outcome. The process “held a bishop of the church accountable to his colleagues and this was a good thing,” Bishop Mathes told Episcopal News Service. He said Bishop MacBurney’s willingness to apologize for his actions “provided us a way to provide forgiveness.”

In an interview with a reporter for The Living Church, Mr. Stephens said that the sentence conformed to the terms which were agreed to before the voluntary submission was made adding that Bishop MacBurney is fully restored as a retired member of the House of Bishops, meaning he can again perform priestly and episcopal functions with the permission of the local diocesan bishop.

“I’m sure there are a number of diocesan bishops who would want to have an Anglo-Catholic bishop come and minister,” Mr. Stephens said. “This was a practical means of bringing him back.”

Bishop MacBurney is regarded fondly by many members of the Diocese of Quincy and elsewhere. Prior to his inhibition, he frequently conducted visitations and otherwise assisted Bishop Keith Ackerman of Quincy. The Diocese of Quincy is one of three where representatives to the diocesan convention this fall are scheduled to hold a final vote on whether to leave The Episcopal Church.

Mr. Stephens said Bishop MacBurney’s voluntary submission to discipline “does not foreclose the future in any way,” and that breakaway Anglican congregations will not be affected by his decision to remain with The Episcopal Church because there are now many more Anglican bishops in North America available to perform episcopal acts without first seeking permission from a diocesan bishop of The Episcopal Church.

“That was less true back in 2007,” Mr. Stephens said.

Reported by Steve Waring

Local News Coverage of Wednesday's Press Conference

Click here

for a report from KNBC Channel Four News.

Good News/Bad News

The good news is Sarah Palin evidently isn't really willing to ban books.

The bad news is Sarah Palin evidently thinks war with Russia is an option.

Honest.

Didn't make this up.

Didn't get it from an anonymous email thread.

Got it in an ABC News Alert which arrived in my inbox at 2:16PM entitled:

Breaking News from ABCNEWS.com:
EXCLUSIVE: GOV. SARAH PALIN WARNS WAR MAY BE NECESSARY

Thinking they must have got it wrong, I went to the ABC website and ... nope ... evidently that's what she says in her interview tonight with Charlie Gibson:

On the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, Gov. Sarah Palin took a hard-line approach on national security and said that war with Russia may be necessary if Georgia were to join NATO and be invaded by Russia.

Wow! Remember when we were horrified by Cheney saber-rattling in the direction of Iran????

On the Banning of Books???????????

I absolutely, positively do NOT have any time to fool with blogs today. Not a second. I am up to my alb in alligators trying to re-enter after being away at Lambeth followed by my mother's funeral followed by vacation. I love what I do and at the moment -- as my friend Elizabeth would say -- I have too much on my plate to even pray over it!

And ...

I got an email from an friend and educator (posted below) about an effort to ban some books in Wasalia, Alaska. And so I'm tithing the 20 minutes I had planned to eat lunch to posting this up instead and throwing myself on the mercy of some of you blog-heads out there with more time on your hands than I have this week to do the research on this.

Because --believe it or not, I do NOT believe absolutely everything someone emails me -- I want someone to give it a "truth dig" thumbs up or thumbs down for accuracy.

And ...

If it's true ...

I want to know how we think we could even BEGIN to imagine that trying to ban "A Wrinkle in Time" is something we want on the resume of the Vice President of the United States of America.

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1:39PM

UPDATE: WOW!!! You guys are fast!!!

Thankfully, the answer is "NOT TRUE!" ... here's a link to the Snopes "debunk" ... and shame on whoever's putting this kind of stuff out there and getting bleeding heart liberals like me all excited!

So, now you know ... and here's the email NOT to believe when you get it ...

============

From: XXXXX

Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 9:35 AM

To: XXXXX

Subject: Our next vice president's banned reading list

The following is a list of books that Sarah Palin tried to get banned when she was mayor of Wasilla. This information is taken from the official minutes of the Wasilla Library Board.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Blubber by Judy Blume

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Canterbury Tales by Chaucer

Carrie by Stephen King

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Christine by Stephen King

Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Cujo by Stephen King

Curses, Hexes, and Spells by Daniel Cohen

Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite

Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Decameron by Boccaccio

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Fallen Angels by Walter Myers

Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) by John Cleland

Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Forever by Judy Blume

Grendel by John Champlin Gardner

Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Have to Go by Robert Munsch

Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Impressions edited by Jack Booth

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

It's Okay if You Don't Love Me by Norma Klein

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Love is One of the Choices by Norma Klein

Lysistrata by Aristophanes

More Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

My House by Nikki Giovanni

My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara

Night Chills by Dean Koontz

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Ordinary People by Judith Guest

Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Collective

Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl

Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz

Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

Separate Peace by John KnowlesS

ilas Marner by George Eliot

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

The Bastard by John Jakes

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Devil's Alternative by Frederick Forsyth

The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Snyder

The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks

The Living Bible by William C. Bower

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

The New Teenage Body Book by Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman

The Pigman by Paul Zindel

The Seduction of Peter S. by Lawrence Sanders

The Shining by Stephen King

The Witches by Roald Dahl

The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Snyder

Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween Symbols by Edna Barth

NO ON 8 All Over the State

It was a busy day in the neighborhood!
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Here's a link to the "No on 8" Press Conference here in the Diocese of Los Angeles ...

There are also photos from the San Francisco press conference over at Walking With Integrity.

A link to the statement from ALL the bishops of California here.

And The L.A. Times has this to say:

California's six most senior Episcopal bishops today unanimously declared their opposition to a constitutional amendment on the statewide November ballot that would ban same-sex marriage.

The bishops argued that preserving the right of gays and lesbians to marry would enhance the "Christian values" of monogamy, love and commitment.

"We believe that continued access to civil marriage for all, regardless of sexual orientation, is consistent with the best principles of our constitutional rights," said the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles."

"We do not believe that marriage of heterosexuals is threatened by same-sex marriage."
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Read the rest here.

The " NO on 8" Press Conference in Los Angeles today

Here are a few pictures from the "No on 8" Press Conference at the Los Angeles Cathedral Center today. We were gratified to have a great media turnout and a great show of support from all around the diocese.

Here's a link to the NO ON 8 Statement issued today by ALL SIX CALIFORNIA EPISCOPAL BISHOPS!

And here's video of the press conference ...

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Episcopal Bishops Say Yes To Gay Marriage @ Yahoo! Video

Finally, here's +Jon's statement given this morning:
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We are here today to affirm that all Californians have the same access to civil marriage under the laws of our state.

Our state legislature has spoken twice on this matter. Earlier this year the California Supreme Court opened the way for both same-gender couples and heterosexual couples to have equal protection as married partners under the law.

Proposition Eight would eliminate this equality for same-gender couples and rescind their rights as married partners. Therefore Proposition Eight must be defeated. I must vote “no” on this effort to re-write our state constitution with language of exclusion.

I join with my sister and brother Bishops of all six Episcopal Dioceses in California in our unanimous statement: “We believe that continued access to civil marriage for all, regardless of sexual orientation, is consistent with the best principles of our constitutional rights. We believe that this continued access promotes Jesus’ ethic of love, giving and hope.”

As Bishops, we have said that “we do not believe that marriage of heterosexuals is threatened by same-sex marriage. Rather the Christian values of monogamy, commitment, love, mutual respect and witness… are enhanced for all by providing this right to gay and straight alike.”

For these reasons, we are compelled to protect the fundamental dignity, freedoms and fairness of all Californians. I urge you to search your conscience as you review Proposition Eight, and vote No.

GO, TEAM!!

The Word of the Lord

Check out the lesson from Romans appointed (in the RCL) for this coming Sunday ... here from The Message.

Romans 14:1-12

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.

For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.

Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.

What's important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God's sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you're a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It's God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I'd say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we're all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture:

"As I live and breathe," God says,
"every knee will bow before me;
Every tongue will tell the honest truth
that I and only I am God."

So tend to your knitting. You've got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.

====

Think this one'll preach?????

Here's where I'll be tomorrow morning ...

Episcopal Bishop to take strong No on 8 stand at Wednesday Press Conference

The Right Reverend J. Jon Bruno, Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles will speak in opposition to Proposition 8 at a press conference on Wednesday, September 10 beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the Los Angeles Cathedral Center, located at 840 Echo Park Avenue.

Bruno will joined by clergy and lay leaders from all around the southland, including:

· The Reverend Abel Lopez, who will address the issue of marriage equality in both English and Spanish;

· The Reverend Warner Traynham, former rector of St. John’s, Los Angeles and long time civil rights activist;

· The Reverend Susan Russell, President of Integrity USA and a national spokesperson for LGBT equality;

· Along with several recently married Episcopalian couples who will talk about their commitment to protect the sanctity of ALL marriages.

========

Film, as they say, at eleven!!

More election stuff

A parishioner brought this Huffington Post reflection to my attention and so I'm bringing it to yours:

Drill, Drill, Drill -- by Eve Ensler

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Do read it all here ... and forward it to ANYBODY who's complacent about this election; who's wondering if McCain in the White House "would really be that bad;" who's still nursing some Hillary resentment and is thinking about sitting this one out.

Let me tell you a quick True Story: One of my die-hard Team Hillary circle said last week, "OK ... I'll vote for him. But I am NOT a "supporter." After a week of Sarah Palin? She's not only got Obama '08 yard signs in her yard and bumper stickers on her car ... she bought yard signs for her neighbors and extra bumper stickers "just in case."

I think that makes her a supporter.

So here's to Hope. And here's to Change. And here's to moblizing OUR base ... and here's to an Obama/Biden victory in November!
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This is the fast she chooses

Riazat Butt, the religion correspondent for The Guardian (pictured here interviewing Episcopal PB +Katharine Jefferts Schori in Canterbury) has a "don't miss" reflection in this week's Church of England Newspaper ... posted with permission on Simon Sarmiento's Thinking Anglicans.

Read it all but here's a taste:

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Ramadan is upon us and, taking my cue from Tower Hamlets council, I’m asking you to be sensitive to my needs during this 30-day period of abstinence and restraint by refraining from publishing stories about gay bishops during the hours of sunrise and sunset.

In the month of fasting I can think of no better example to set than a complete avoidance of phrases such as openly gay and Anglican Communion in the same sentence, especially when ever one is stuffed to the gills already with stories of schism.
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A little bit of perspective and reflection is required here. There are 80m Anglicans in the world. There are more than 800m Hindus, more than 300m Buddhists and more than 1bn Catholics. The Anglican Communion is, much like Springfield, Illinois, a one-horse town.

Four weddings and a funeral

I'm back.

Today was my first Sunday back from vacation and I preached at 7:30, 9:00 and 11:15. I actually started back to work yesterday with a wedding that ended up as one today's sermon illustrations ... a sermon entitled:

Four Weddings and a Funeral
(Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20)
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Click here for video.

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The first-Sunday-in-September. Is it possible that it’s already time to bid a fond farewell to those “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer?” Afraid so … and that means it is also time to bid a not-so-fond farewell to unscheduled days with freedom to read what you want when you want to and to sleep as late as you feel like it without an alarm clock dragging you into the morning – ready or not for the tasks ahead.

At least, that’s what I thought of when I read these words from Paul’s letter to the Romans – great ones for back to school week, don’cha think? “You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.” And – if I’m honest -- my gut reaction to that particular “word of the Lord” is not “Thanks be to God” but “Oh Mom, do I have to?” For they are words that could almost be from the lips of any mother or father charged with the thankless task of getting the kids “up” on the first day of school. I remember my own mother trying valiantly – and with limited success -- to readjust our elementary school body clocks at the end of a long, summer vacation and get us “up and at ‘em” for the school year ahead. And I certainly fought many the losing battles with my own boys on those first back-to-school mornings.

Of course Paul is talking about a different kind of waking up … a different kind of work to get busy at than the dreaded “What I did on my summer vacation” essay assignment that haunted those first days back in school. But before I get to that, I want to take a few minutes to share with you what my “What I did on my summer vacation” essay might have looked like if I’d written one this year. It would have been titled: “Four Weddings and a Funeral.”

As most of you know, my summer this year included not just time off for summer vacation but time away from All Saints Church for something called “The Lambeth Conference” … and that was most definitely NOT a vacation! Organizing our witness at the every-ten-year gathering of bishops from all over the Anglican Communion was a pretty consuming piece of work and I thought my plate was as full as it could get last spring. Then – on May 15th – the California Supreme Court ruled (stop me if you’ve heard this before!) that separate was NOT close enough to equal when it comes to marriage for same sex couples here in California and suddenly it seemed it was all-weddings-all-the-time.

The first was here in the All Saints Church chapel on June 17 – the day after Marriage Equality became the law of the land in California. At our regularly scheduled every-weekday-at-12:10 Noonday Eucharist, Mel White and his partner of 27 years Gary Nixon were married – in the sight of God and the State of California! – in an intimate gathering of friends and family … and regular noonday worshippers … with a wedding that was both extraordinary in its historic “first-ness” and oh-so-ordinary in its familiar vows and promises, prayers and blessings.

The very next day we gathered up here on the chancel for Wedding Number Two … where Bear Ride and Susan Craig promised to love, honor and cherish each other … in sickness and in health … ‘til death did them part … as they were married – in the sight of God AND the State of California (and with the PBS “Religion & Ethics Weekly” cameras rolling!).

Wedding Number Three of my summer vacation was not here at All Saints but in a Pomona backyard where my friends Warren and Michael were married by a Superior Court judge surrounded by friends, family and twinkle lights. Together since 1992, Warren and Michael had done this before … in 2004 at a San Francisco courthouse when marriage was ... for a brief, shining moment … an option for all Californians. And now here they were again … making the vows and promises to each other … hoping that this time it would “stick” … that their “happily ever after” wouldn’t be put on hold by yet another legal maneuver designed to make marriage the heterosexual privilege of some Californians rather than an equally protected right for all Californians. And after the judge pronounced them “spouses for life” two Episcopal clergy stepped up and blessed the rings they had just exchanged and the vows they had just spoken. And a good time was had by all!

Four weddings and a funeral.

We plan ahead for weddings but there are no “save the date” cards for funerals. On July 24, while in Canterbury for the Lambeth Conference, we got word that my mother died in her sleep just days from her 83rd birthday in her home in Alexandria, Minnesota. My brother and I were stunned at her sudden and unexpected loss and deeply grateful for all who came together to make the celebration of her life we held on August 12th such a tribute to her and to the values she held most dear. As I said at the service that day to the congregation that included three of her Class of 1943 cheerleading team and more cousins than I could shake a stick at, Betty was someone who never took no for an answer.
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She never GAVE no for an answer, either … instead she was famous for “we’ll see” – which translated to “no way.” She was stubborn, strong and opinionated and you could never count on her agreeing with you – but you could always count on her loving and supporting you. My mother didn’t talk a lot about family values – she just lived them. For nearly 83 not-long-enough years. And we continue to be blessed by her love and by her example.

Four weddings and a funeral.

Wedding Number Four was just yesterday. What a privilege is was to be the celebrant at the wedding of Kathy Van Tassell and Terry Wick, who celebrated 16 years of commitment by making “honest women” of each other with friends and family surrounding them with love and good wishes for a lifetime of happiness together. One of the readings in their liturgy was this poem by Maya Angelou:

We, unaccustomed to courage

exiles from delight

live coiled in shells of loneliness

until love leaves its high holy temple

and comes into our sight

to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies

old memories of pleasure

ancient histories of pain.

Yet if we are bold,

love strikes away the chains of fear

from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity

In the flush of love's light

we dare be brave

And suddenly we see

and will ever be.
Yet it is only love which sets us free.

And these words of Maya Angelou bring me back to these words from Paul's Letter to the Romans:

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

And these, my brothers and sisters, are the words that bring my summer vacation of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” smack up against Jesus’ call to all of us for the year ahead. What binds all these events together – these four weddings and a funeral – is the love that sets us free – the love that is stronger even than death: the love of a God who loved us enough to become one of us in order to show us how to love one another.

It is the love that will strike away the chains of fear from our souls and empower us to speak up for the oppressed and marginalized, to comfort the grieving and to rejoice with the joyful.

Love that liberates us into life also calls us into action. As the rector names it, faith in action is called politics. And if I learned anything on my summer vacation, I learned that sometimes it takes the political to make the pastoral possible. The four weddings I’ve described – like hundreds of others all over the state of California since June 16th – would not have been possible without the hard political work that went into securing marriage equality here in California. And there’s more of that work ahead of us if we’re going to fend off Proposition 8 – the ballot initiative that would take away the right to marry from same sex couples.

How is it possible to hear these words from Paul this morning – Love does no wrong to a neighbor – and not “get” that taking away the freedom to marry from our neighbors is just plain wrong? I’m proud to be part of a church that took a strong and early stand against Proposition 8 and I’ll be proud to stand with our bishop, +Jon Bruno on Wednesday morning at the Cathedral Center press conference where he will issue his statement opposing writing discrimination into the constitution and urging Episcopalians to Vote No on 8.

Yes, there is much work ahead of us. So let us hear Paul’s words written to the Christians in Romans all those many years ago as if they were emailed to us in Pasadena this morning: “We know what time it is, how it is now the moment for us to wake from sleep. For the night is far gone, the day is near.”

Let us believe that the day that is near is the day when “whoever you are and wherever you find yourself there is a place for you here” is not just the message All Saints Church sends out but the message the whole Episcopal Church … indeed, the entire Anglican Communion … steps up to both claim and to proclaim.

Let us challenge the night that is not yet far enough gone -- the dark night of exploiting “family values” to value some families and to oppress and marginalize others. The alarm clock is ringing – for us and for all who are committed to this high calling of joining with Jesus to turn the human race into the human family we were created to be. A human family coming together to celebrate every time two people find love and step out in faith to commit themselves to live happily ever after “‘til death do them part.” A human family grieving together whenever death separates us – for a time – from those we love but see no more.
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Let’s hear it one more time:

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

And may the God of grace, mercy and empowerment give us the grace to be not just hearers but doers of these words as we live lives set free by the power of love -- by the Holy Spirit -- to be agents of change, messengers of hope and -- most importantly -- bearers of God's love into the world.

Thanks be to God.
Alleluia. Amen.
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And there you have it ...

CNN did a little "fact checking" and ...

You, Go, +John Chane!

+John Chane, Bishop of Washington, telling it like it is in today's "Comment is free" column in The Guardian ...

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called for sacrifices to be made to keep the garment of the communion together. And for the American and Canadian churches, that clearly means sacrificing once again the full participation of gay and lesbian people in the life of our church. I, for one, will not ask for any more sacrifices to be made by persons in our church who have been made outcasts because of their sexual orientation.

This Lambeth conference could have been a positive turning point for the Anglican communion, but instead the powers-that-be chose to seek a middle way that is neither "the middle" nor "the way". It will, therefore, be up to bishops from around the communion who have continuing partner and companion relationships to work toward a more holistic view of the church. The Anglican communion must face the hard truth that when we scapegoat and victimise one group of people in the church, all of us become victims of our own prejudice and sinfulness.

Because I should be writing a sermon ...

... I've been trolling the blogs instead.


And I came across this little tid-bit over on ABC News' "Political Punch":


Palin Accuses 'Obama/Biden Democrats' of Attacking Her Family, But Campaign Can't Name One


Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin sent out a fundraising solicitation today that charged that "the Obama/Biden Democrats have been vicious in their attacks directed toward me, my family and John McCain.

"I asked spokespeople of the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee just which "Obama/Biden Democrats" they're referring to.

The response I got was that Obama spokesman Mark Bubriski erroneously attacked Palin as a supporter of Pat Buchanan.

That's it.

That's the evidence.


An attack on Palin herself.


In other words, they can't name one person affiliated with the Obama-Biden campaign who attacked the Palin family.


But she made the charge anyway, to help raise money.


Incidentally, in 1998 Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, told the following joke at a Republican fundraiser:


"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?" McCain joked about the then-President's then-teenage daughter. "Because her father is Janet Reno."


''This is the bad boy,'' he told the New York Times' Maureen Dowd. "It was stupid and cruel and insensitive. I've apologized. I can't take it back. I could give you a whole bunch of excuses, but there are no excuses. I was wrong, but do you want me crucified? How many days does it need to be a story?'"


Now THAT is attacking someone's family!
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And now, I really AM going to get started on that sermon! :)

He Said/He Said

A really enlightening way to spend three minutes and fourteen seconds:

And the Quote of the Week (so far!) Award goes to ...

... whoever said:

Jesus was a community organizer

Pontius Pilate was a governor

(Let those with ears to hear ...)

Equal Time: So let's hear from the Sarah Palin SUPPORTERS ...

Hear it from the horses' mouths: Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly & Dick Morris (courtesy Jon Stewart)

Gloria Steinem on Sarah Palin

In today's L.A. Times:
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Palin: wrong woman, wrong message

Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote.

We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes.

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But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need. Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.

Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."

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This is not to beat up on Palin. I defend her right to be wrong, even on issues that matter most to me. I regret that people say she can't do the job because she has children in need of care, especially if they wouldn't say the same about a father. I get no pleasure from imagining her in the spotlight on national and foreign policy issues about which she has zero background, with one month to learn to compete with Sen. Joe Biden's 37 years' experience.

Palin has been honest about what she doesn't know. When asked last month about the vice presidency, she said, "I still can't answer that question until someone answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?" When asked about Iraq, she said, "I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."

She was elected governor largely because the incumbent was unpopular, and she's won over Alaskans mostly by using unprecedented oil wealth to give a $1,200 rebate to every resident. Now she is being praised by McCain's campaign as a tax cutter, despite the fact that Alaska has no state income or sales tax. Perhaps McCain has opposed affirmative action for so long that he doesn't know it's about inviting more people to meet standards, not lowering them. Or perhaps McCain is following the Bush administration habit, as in the Justice Department, of putting a job candidate's views on "God, guns and gays" ahead of competence. The difference is that McCain is filling a job one 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency.

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So let's be clear: The culprit is John McCain. He may have chosen Palin out of change-envy, or a belief that women can't tell the difference between form and content, but the main motive was to please right-wing ideologues; the same ones who nixed anyone who is now or ever has been a supporter of reproductive freedom. If that were not the case, McCain could have chosen a woman who knows what a vice president does and who has thought about Iraq; someone like Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. McCain could have taken a baby step away from right-wing patriarchs who determine his actions, right down to opposing the Violence Against Women Act.

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Palin's value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.

I don't doubt her sincerity. As a lifetime member of the National Rifle Assn., she doesn't just support killing animals from helicopters, she does it herself. She doesn't just talk about increasing the use of fossil fuels but puts a coal-burning power plant in her own small town. She doesn't just echo McCain's pledge to criminalize abortion by overturning Roe vs. Wade, she says that if one of her daughters were impregnated by rape or incest, she should bear the child. She not only opposes reproductive freedom as a human right but implies that it dictates abortion, without saying that it also protects the right to have a child.

So far, the major new McCain supporter that Palin has attracted is James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Of course, for Dobson, "women are merely waiting for their husbands to assume leadership," so he may be voting for Palin's husband.

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Being a hope-a-holic, however, I can see two long-term bipartisan gains from this contest.

Republicans may learn they can't appeal to right-wing patriarchs and most women at the same time. A loss in November could cause the centrist majority of Republicans to take back their party, which was the first to support the Equal Rights Amendment and should be the last to want to invite government into the wombs of women.

And American women, who suffer more because of having two full-time jobs than from any other single injustice, finally have support on a national stage from male leaders who know that women can't be equal outside the home until men are equal in it. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are campaigning on their belief that men should be, can be and want to be at home for their children.

This could be huge.
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An able communicator with a likable style, Sarah Palin did an excellent job of setting before the American people the goals and values of the Republican ticket in her convention speech tonight.

Plus moment: I did laugh at the pit bull/hockey mom joke:

Q. What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?
A. Lipstick.

Minus moment: Maybe because it's a temptation I'm all too frequently led into myself, I thought she stepped over the line from pointed to snarky a few too many times. The sarcasm didn't become her.

Her job was to energize the social conservative base and she certainly did that -- but it creeped me out when she slammed Obama with this quote: "Al-Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America; he's worried that someone won't read them their rights."

Wow. I guess I really AM a bleeding heart liberal ... because it turns out I'm worried about anybody who thinks that anybody's constitutional rights are fair game to be dismissed when politically expedient -- not to even get me started on the "terrorists-are-out-to-get-you-fear-mongering" that has been a chief characteristic of the last 8 disastrous years.

I guess what we're looking at is Culture Wars 2.0
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So here's what I'm thinking: Sarah Palin did her job of mobilizing the social conservative base of the Republican Party and she did it really well. What she ALSO did was point out to anyone who might be on the fence -- not yet sold on Obama and asking if a McCain administration would really be that bad -- that the answer is ... clearly ...

Yes, Yes it would!

All Palin All the Time

From "The National Review": Why do we like Palin?

Some key (AKA "clarifying") quotes from today's National Review Online on why Sarah Palin has such appeal to conservative voters:

Millions apparently like Palin's atypical 19th-century profile.

She finds snowmobiling, hunting, fishing and living in small-town America not as a wasteful use of carbon-emitting fuels, cruelty to animals, gratuitous depletion of our resources, or proof of parochial yokelism. Instead it is a life of action in an often harsh natural landscape, where physical strength is married to intelligence to bring us food, fuel, and progress.

[She is] a rare politician who is unapologetic about America's past achievements ... and who reminds us with pride that a muscular world of action, not community organizing, creates the bounty that others use and take for granted but so often sneer at the methods of its acquisition.

My, my, my! Granted -- it IS the National Review -- but it's also an interesting window into the values that Sarah Palin has been tapped to bring home from the so called "Values Voters." ("Muscular action" vs. "community organizing"??? Why does that sound like Bush/Cheney all over again? Oh yeah ... because it IS!!!)

But wait ... there's more!

From MSNBC's Michael Levine: Palin on "God's will"

Then there were these quotes from Gov. Palin in a June speech to the graduating class at her former church in Wasilla, Alaska.

• While describing her family, Palin told students about her oldest son, 19-year-old Track, who is set to be deployed to Iraq this month with the U.S. Army. She urged students to pray “that our leaders -- that our national leaders -- are sending [soldiers] out on a task that is from God.” She added, “That's what we have to make sure that we are praying for: that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan.”


• I can do my part in working really, really hard to get a natural gas pipeline, about a $30 billion project that's going to create a lot of jobs for Alaska. … [but] I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that.


• I can do my job there in developing our natural resources, in doing things like getting the roads paved and making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded. But really that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's hearts aren't right with God.

Maybe someone could explain to Governor Palin the difference between a theocracy and democracy. Or maybe that's a conversation the McCain folks should have had with her before they announced her addition to the Republican ticket.

Of course we'll be watching tonight to see what she has to say at the Republican convention but don't expect to be surprised by any of it.

What you see with Sarah Palin is, I believe what you get. And it's not what we want a heart-beat away from the Oval Office.

It is sadly symptomatic of the systemic sexism that is so pervasive in this still-working-on-its-issues country of ours that questions about how Governor Palin will "mother" her children and be Vice President are dominating the media.

If those are valid questions they should be being asked of Barack Obama as the father of young children as well. And they aren't being asked of him. And they shouldn't be asked of her.

Because the question is not what kind of mother Sarah Palin is ... the question is what kind of VP will she be.

And the answer is, if you want a country led by a man who voted with Bush 95% of the time and thinks it would be swell to be in Iraq for another 100 years with a woman VP who is anti-choice, pro-gun and a Creationist, then McCain/Palin is just the ticket for you.

Or ... if you want to see a new direction in Washington focused on hope rather than on fear, on building bridges rather than blowing them up, on economic policies that give all Americans the chance to achieve the American Dream rather than continue to pander to the oil industry and give tax breaks to the richest among us and on a commitment to liberty and justice for ALL ... not just for some ...then Obama/Biden is probably your cup of tea.

If the National Review is correct and there are indeed voters out there attracted to a "19th century profile" then it's up to the rest of us to get out there and elect a team ready to lead us into the 21st century.
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Because like it or lump it, Sarah Palin is doing the job she was tapped to do: mobilizing the social conservative base. And the stakes are too high for us to be complacent about that reality. Change we can believe in will only happen if we make it happen. So figure out what you're going to do to make it happen and get busy -- the election is only 62 days away!
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Gallup Daily: Obama Hits 50%

Obama leads McCain by eight percentage points:

50%/42%

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Aug. 30 through Sept. 1, finds Barack Obama leading the race for president with his highest share of support to date. Fully half of national registered voters now favor Obama for president, while 42% back John McCain.

Integrity Ad in Episcopal Life

Check out the ad that Integrity'll be running in the September issue of "Episcopal Life"...

... Onward and upward!

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Fun facts to know and tell about the Governor of Alaska ...

Say what about the bridge to where????
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Anchorage Daily News/MCT—Landov

From today's Reuters report:
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Palin "bridge to nowhere" line angers many Alaskans

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's assertion that she rejected Congressional funds for the so-called "bridge to nowhere" has upset many Alaskans. During her first speech after being named as McCain's surprise pick as a running mate, Palin said she had told Congress "'thanks but no thanks' on that bridge to nowhere."

However ...

When she was running for governor in 2006, Palin said she was insulted by the term "bridge to nowhere," according to Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein, a Democrat, and Mike Elerding, a Republican who was Palin's campaign coordinator in the southeast Alaska city.

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"People are learning that she pandered to us by saying, I'm for this' ... and then when she found it was politically advantageous for her nationally, abruptly she starts using the very term that she said was insulting," Weinstein said.

Last year, Palin announced she was stopping state work on the controversial project, earning her admirers from earmark critics and budget hawks from around the nation. The move also thrust her into the spotlight as a reform-minded newcomer.

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The state, however, never gave back any of the money that was originally earmarked for the Gravina Island bridge, said Weinstein and Elerding.
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In fact, the Palin administration has spent "tens of millions of dollars" in federal funds to start building a road on Gravina Island that is supposed to link up to the yet-to-be-built bridge, Weinstein said. "She said 'thanks but no thanks,' but then kept the money," said Elerding.

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My, my, my!